Anticipation for all things Disney is enormous right now at our house. We leave tomorrow morning for Disney World to enjoy the park before the highlight of our vacation begins as we are setting sail on the Disney Dream Christening Voyage.

Kenzie can’t wait to meet Minnie Mouse and Kyle is most excited to hopefully meet Tinkerbell and Captain Hook. Both kids also hope to see Captain Jack Sparrow.

The new ship is beyond grand and the amenities and features for both children and adults will not disappoint. My kids are dying to play in Andy’s Room in the Oceaneer’s Club. Yes, these are lifesize toys from Toy Story !

I’m most looking forward to sunshine at Castaway Cay – Disney’s very own private island in the Bahamas and hopefully snorkeling with Mackenzie and showing her the sting rays.

I also can’t wait for the on board entertainment. I’ve taken a Disney Cruise before and the entertainment is top notch. Nobody can entertain like Disney and the magic is everywhere on board. From character greetings to evening Broadway style Disney shows. Plus, the Pirates of the Caribbean Deck party topped off with Fireworks at Sea. Fingers crossed we can keep the kids up until 10 PM for Fireworks.

We’re also very interested to experience the “Magical Porthole” in our Inside Stateroom. This is a a cruise industry-first for all inside staterooms on the Disney Dream, Magical Portholes offer a “window” to the world with a real-time views outside the ship. High-definition cameras placed on the exterior of the ship feed live video to each Magical Porthole.

I presume I would prefer the real ocean view & verandah if we were booking a longer cruise given my kids still nap and I love enjoying the deck while they are sleeping. However, I am certain my kids will be very impressed with the Magical Porthole since entertaining animated characters may pop by their porthole such as Peach the starfish from the Disney-Pixar film “Finding Nemo,” the flying balloon house from “UP” or even Mickey Mouse.

We are so excited to experience the special moment as the ship leaves Port Canaveral for Castaway Cay. I’ll be working & playing hard on Wednesday and Thursday to capture highlights of the gorgeous new Disney Dream on camera so I can share it with everyone.

Disclosure: I love everything Disney and have written about this brand and our vacations before I had an official relationship with the company. However, this 2 night sail will be a media & press event so my travel expenses will be paid for by Disney for our cruise experience.

We are sooooo excited! Here I am telling the kids about the package tonight. Sweet 2 year old Kyle has been wishing for a cruise ship ever since he cruised to the Caribbean this summer. On every birthday cake he wishes for “the cruise ship!” and when I asked him what kind of “big boy” bedroom theme he’d like he quickly replied after I offered him dinosaurs, cars, curious george or trains, that he would prefer a “Cruise Ship” theme complete with bunk beds!

Along with a movie theater, the Disney Dream will have two brand new state of the art musicals that rival the shows on Broadway along with a refreshed “Golden Mickey’s”. “Villians” is the first show dedicated to all those Disney villians and the other new show is titled, “Disney’s Believe.”

The kids are sure to love every second of the journey. From heading to the Oceannear’s club to hang out in the Disney themed child care centers like “Andy’s Room” or in Tinker Bell’s “Pixie Hollow” to riding the Aqua Duct waterslide on the ship to hanging out with Mickey & Minnie Mouse.

The kids are already planning to bring their Disney dress up costumes to wear to dinner at night and can’t wait to swim at Castaway Cay. It will be a marvelous 2 days and I’m sure we’ll be booking a full week cruise for sometime next year after this brief taste of the magic! Having done a Disney Cruise press trip solo last year, I can’t wait to bring everyone along for the fun this time – and the kids are the ideal age to participate in all the “family” activities, on deck pirate parties, character greetings, and more.

The 2011 schedule is already up and we hope to book the extended Dream itinerary that is for 5 days with a double dip at Castaway Cay so we can experience the island 2 times during 1 trip as it truly is a piece of paradise in the middle of the Caribbean. And if those dates don’t work for us – we’ll be hoping to score one of those “Kids Sail Free” deals they offer on occassion, however, I hear they sell out fast so I’ll need to stay on top of the buzz to take advantage of their specials.